Feeding devices are used in poultry keeping to provide the animals with feed. In addition to the food uptake thus achieved, the other main activities of animals in poultry keeping facilities include water uptake, free movement, laying eggs, where relevant, and dust bathing in the litter or in the free-range area. One problematic aspect is that these activities are not sufficient for some of the poultry. This can then lead to aggressive behaviours such as feather pecking and cannibalism. This can develop into a major problem, particularly in flocks whose beaks have not been trimmed.
Counteracting the abnormal behaviour among poultry that results from this frustration, by providing the poultry with further material with which to interact, and other activities they can engage in, is basically known. One option is to arrange one or more pecking stones in the area where the animals are kept. Such pecking stones are placed in the litter or suspended and are used to provide the animals with additional activities, and the pecking stones can also cause the beak to be worn down, thus serving a natural function for the animals. However, one disadvantage is that the poultry quickly loses the incentive to engage with the pecking stone and then returns to the old, unnatural patterns of behaviour.
Racks in the form of hay or straw bales, or containers filled with hay or straw, have proved to be a more long-lasting form of activity, with less tendency to lose its attractiveness. In this case, the animals peck the hay or the straw from the rack, thus finding an activity that, while not losing its attractiveness for the animals quite as quickly, is not an interesting activity over the long term, either.
Another proven option is to provide plastic elements made of such a material that is sufficiently strong that the animals cannot eat the plastic. These plastic elements can be distributed in the litter or suspended above it, thus forming another potential activity, but one that is only briefly attractive.
Finally, feed supplements have been shown in the prior art to be one way of increasing the potential activities for poultry. Beside the actual feeding apparatus for feeding the animals, an additional feeding apparatus is also placed in the area where the animals are kept, for additional feeding of wheat, grain, grit, and limestone, for example. However, these measures are costly, and due to the general ease with which the animals can access these feed supplements, the effect of providing an additional activity is generally short-lived.